Mediated by Meaning

Mediated by Meaning brings two unlikely conversation partners, the clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson and philosopher-theologian Bernard Lonergan, into dialogue on the most urgent human questions: How do we know? What do we believe? How do we live authentically in a fractured age? Steven Umbrello explores how Lonergan's rigorous account of consciousness, self-transcendence, and conversion can clarify Peterson's psychological emphasis on story, responsibility, and confrontation with chaos. At the same time, Peterson's vivid cultural analysis and existential urgency give flesh and immediacy to Lonergan's often abstract framework. The result is an interdisciplinary vision of human transformation that integrates psychology, philosophy, and theology. Umbrello argues that authentic meaning-making requires not only intellectual clarity and moral responsibility but also openness to grace and transcendence. Written for scholars, students, and thoughtful readers seeking a framework for navigating contemporary crises of belief and culture, Mediated by Meaning offers a compelling invitation to face chaos with courage, to ground belief in truth, and to rediscover the path of authentic self-transcendence.